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Recovering from knee replacement

Joint Replacements | Last Active: Mar 5 8:44pm | Replies (25)
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@heyjoe415

Hey Chris, Joe here. I have to disagree that robotic TKRs are "minimally invasive". When I think of minimally invasive, I think of an arthroscope with very small incisions.

A TKR requires about an 8" incision, the quad is cut to release the patella, and surgical hammers are used to place the femoral and tibial prostheses. Full recovery can take up to a year, but with a motivated patient, normal movement is restored as quickly as 6 to 8 weeks. It's a great procedure with or without the assistant, but it is a traumatic procedure.

Anyway, just curious why you affirmed a robot-assisted TKR as minimally invasive. Thanks!

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Replies to "Hey Chris, Joe here. I have to disagree that robotic TKRs are "minimally invasive". When I..."
Chris Trout, Volunteer Mentor | @artscaping | Feb 16 10:47pm

Hi there @heyjoe415. I sure appreciate your concern. I try so hard to remember these kinds of issues. So.... I could have missed something. However, the scar on this knee is 4 inches long. The one on my left knee which was done 10 years ago is 8 inches long. I met with my surgeon to watch the video of the surgery and discuss the process that he would be using. I remember being very impressed. I chose this surgeon because of his youth and current training.

I have a video of my surgery and as soon as I can find it in the pile of items to be filed I will pop it in and see what it shows. I do know I was home by noon on the surgery day and started PT the following day. My completion test was when I woke up in the morning and walked to the bathroom without thinking about my knee. The first TKR took almost one year. The recent TKR was performed well within weeks.

One of my medical heroes is Dr. Montori at Mayo Clinic who is an advocate for and author of The Patient Revolution which includes "shared decision making" and "minimally invasive" procedures. I was on his patient advisory group for a couple of years and spent a great deal of time discussing contemporary issues.

I will let you know as soon as I find the video.

May you have happiness and the causes of happiness.
Chris

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